England’s number of syphilis cases is putting a major strain on the council resources because they’re at their highest levels since 1949.
According to the latest figures, there were more than 7,100 syphilis cases diagnosed in 2017, which is 20 percent higher than the year before and two times more than 2012. Most cases were seen in 25 to 34-year-olds (33 percent). 35 to 44-year-olds accounted for 26 percent.
The
figures from Public Health England showed that 78 percent of the
cases involved men having sex with men.
The
agency called for better services in the STI prevention and
treatment.
Councillor
Izzi Seccombe said this isn’t a time for complacency, and councils
need to understand the need to invest in prevention services and help
reverse the numbers of STI cases. Without the investment of
prevention services, health inequalities will continue, and councils
may not effectively respond to outbreaks.
She
said the government must enact public health grants once more to deal
with the thin STI services.
According
to the figures, the number of new STI diagnoses stayed relatively the
same, with the exception of gonorrhea cases where there was a 22
percent increase. The Public Health England is concerned about the
rise in gonorrhea cases.
The
agency followed the first highly-resistant gonorrhea case, in which
doctors had to use two kinds of antibiotics to treat the condition.
The data also showed there was an eight percent drop in people testing for chlamydia. Since 2015, there has been a significant drop in reproductive and sexual health service with chlamydia testing falling by 61 percent.
The
agency said this, along with other was possibly due to a decrease in
service provision.
Here’s what we've been up to recently.
As a Hepatitis educator and counselor, I converse with thousands of Hepatitis B and C victims. Their number one complaint, other than having these horrible diseases, is having terrible doctors! I have formed the opinion that many of today's General Practitioners are quite bewildered at the prospect of treating their patients who suffer from Hepatitis.
With the taboo of premarital sex almost all but gone, it appears more and more young people are having it. There’s also the thought that everybody is having sex, so you should do. College campuses have made it easy to get ahold of alcohol, increasing the peer pressure to have sex too.
With college back in session, the NJ AIDS/HIV/STD Hotline is reminding students they can be independent and enjoy all the social activities without suffering any of the unintentional mistakes such as drug overdose, drug misuse, unplanned pregnancies, sexual assaults and STDs.